With two new film projects and a slew of endorsements in her kitty, Bollywood actor and mom-of-two Madhuri Dixit is clearly having the time of her life.

Madhuri Dixit Nene walks into the room wearing a little black dress all ready to face a bank of cameras as part of her duties as the brand ambassador of Olay. Her hair is set in perfect place and her make-up is flawless. Between extolling the virtues of Regenerist's Wrinkle Revolution - which she recommends women her age use day and night - she flashes her trademark smile and the assembled scribes, like her innumerable fans, melt as surely as an ice cube in summer. The 45-year-old, who was once the reigning queen of Bollywood in the '90s is back in focus once again. Now that she is done with judging the TV dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Ja Season 5, she has moved on to other commitments, mainly endorsing a slew of big-ticket brands.

"For over 35 per cent of our market segment Madhuri Dixit is the "It" girl. With her huge fan following she brings with her a nostalgic edge to whatever she endorses. She charges anything between Rs 1 to 2 crore per brand," says Prahlad Kakkar, a leading ad film director.

Post the launch ceremony and two hours of non-stop interviews and shoots for online videos later, Dixit is tired and jokes that she just wants to head straight home and relax. But a quick twominute-break later, she settles down on a couch ready to be interviewed.

"It wasn't like this back in the '90s. Actors hardly did any product endorsements," she says referring to today's hectic schedule. So how does it feel to be back in the limelight where actors are better known for the brands they represent than their films today? "I love how organised and disciplined our entertainment industry has become of late," she points out, adding. "It's a welcome change." Dixit says she likes to divide her time between working in television and films, "The only thing is TV has a wider and farreaching viewership whereas films are a longer process, with a restricted audience," she says.

She sounds almost amazed about the presence of bound film scripts, and that "dialogues are rehearsed before you do the shot in front of the camera and there are set schedules for shooting the film." "And yes the multiplexes just add to the variety an audience can get," she quickly adds. Although Indian audiences saw her only at sporadic intervals in films like Lajja, Devdas and Aaja Nachleafter her marriage in 1999 to USbased cardiovascular surgeon Dr Shriram Nene, Bollywood's dancing diva is back after almost a decade. And this time around she seems all set to pursue a full-time career in films.

Ask her why she decided to return lock-stock-and-barrel to India and she says, "This is the best time to be here. Besides the booming economy, it is also the quality of our entertainment that has improved," says Dixit. But she clarifies that the decision to return wasn't just about making a comeback in Hindi films but rather about providing her children Arin, 9, and Ryan, 7, roots in the city that has given her so much.

"I believe that being raised in Mumbai will broaden their horizons, unlike in Denver where they would have had an insular upbringing," says the doting mother, who when not busy with her appointments is happy to stay at home reading Eragon and Percy Jackson books to her sons.

Dixit considers herself a combination of a hands-on and tiger mom who doesn't interfere much in her kids'life. "I want them to grow up to be independent individuals who can think and make decisions for themselves," she says. So is she looking for any signs of a potential actor in the next twenty years? "I am not the kind who would look for any signs. Both I and Shriram want them to be their own person," she says.

Dixit was an unlikely candidate for stardom. She grew up a middle-class Maharashtra girl who wanted to study microbiology from Mumbai University and pursue a career as a genetic researcher. But post her Class 12th exams she signed up for an audition with Rajshri Productions just to explore her deep love for the art of acting.

"I firmly believed that if I passed the audition I had the talent in me to become a good actor," she says. This belief kept her going through a series of flops in the beginning of her career from 1984-87. The jinx was broken with the release of Tezaab in 1988 afterwhich there was no looking back. Madhuri aka Mohini stole the nation's heart with the chartbuster number Ek do Teen. She credits her success to only one thing: hard work.

When asked how she would describe her journey to the top of the Bollywood pile Dixit doesn't hesitate for a second: "Work, work, work and more work," she says. But adds she considers herself lucky for having met and worked with some of the best people in the industry. "I earned respect from the people I worked with because I gave my best to whatever I did," she says.

Actor Anupam Kher, her co-star of several films agrees. "We shared a great friendship while working together and it will be a pleasure to work with her again. She has an amazing sense of humour and is a delight to work with on the sets," he said.

With her contemporary (and some say main competitor) Sridevi making a stellar return to the big screen with English Vinglish, this seems to be the season of comebacks; Dixit will be seen in two films in 2013. What made her sign Anubhav Sinha's Gulab Gang and Dedh Ishqiya, produced by Vishal Bharadwaj and directed by Abhishek Chaubey? "I love playing strong characters that make a mark on the screen," says the actor who counts her role in Mrityudand (1997) among her favourites . "Until then I was the baby of commercial cinema," she quips.

Ask the dancing queen if she is nervous about her comeback and she says, "There will be butterflies in my stomach for sure. But if I'm a good actor I have to be one when I was 18, now and when I'm 100 years old."

Dixit is excited about sharing screen space with Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi in the much-anticipated sequel to Ishqiya in which she plays Shahi Begum who is fond of reciting Urdu poetry.

When we finally get to the question everyone is asking these days: How does she manage to look so good at 45? "Beauty depends on inner happiness. If you love what you do it will reflect on your face," she says. "I don't have any strict beauty regime. I just use Olay day and night creams and think positive all the time," she adds. Dixit doesn't believe it is difficult for female actors over 40 to get meaty roles thanks to the changing mindset of Indian filmmakers and audiences who finally seemed to have warmed up to unconventional subjects and storylines. However, she says, actors above 40 need to be careful while selecting films so they can do justice to their role. "Talent doesn't have an expiry date. Your ambitions are more important than your age which is just a number to label you with," she says.

Kher seems to speak for many in the industry when he says, "Madhuri is a sharp and intelligent actor who is in competition with herself. While the average age of heroines in the industry is getting younger by the day, I'm sure she is going to redefine that trend with her forthcoming films."